You can’t run a Google search for “student testing” without turning up over half a billion references, almost all about the swirling waters around standardized tests and their pros and cons. And yet, a recent article in The New York Times describes another growing movement to help students succeed: understanding, teaching and measuring K-12 students’ emotional and social skills. It’s about time. Educators have long known that measuring the 3Rs only evaluates a part of what makes students successful. Not only do we know that having engaged parents makes a huge difference, but a growing body of evidence also shows how building strong social skills as early as kindergarten can have a dramatic impact on success and satisfaction later in life. Organizations like CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) and ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) are hard at work integrating this important focus on emotional and social intelligence in their programs. It makes sense. We all have learned through experience how important social and emotional behavior skills are in getting along in life. Now there is empirical evidence that focusing on these skills in the classroom serves our students well. At Human eSources, we’ve long believed that increasing self-awareness of their personality, preferences, skills and talents brings students tremendous confidence in their ability to navigate the everyday challenges they face. Our products have helped millions of K-12 students understand how to leverage their strengths, gain clarity over their school and career goals and find greater satisfaction in the classroom and in life. If you are a parent of a K-12 student and are interested in... read more